Memorable learning experience
KNOWLEDGE is the new intangible asset of the 21st century. In the face of climate change and increasing odds for natural disasters, to be prepared with disaster management knowledge makes for a sound learning investment. Five students from Management and Science University (MSU) won praises in Japan for their presentations on disaster relief management.
Visiting the Land of the Rising Sun on MSU’s Global Leadership Programme (GLP), the five high achievers selected by MSU’s Faculty of Business Management and Professional Studies (FBMP) arrived at Kansai University of International Studies (KUIS) as participants of the Japanese Safety Management and Safety Culture programme. Their first order of the day was an ice-breaking session with other international participants, where they were welcomed by KUIS president, Dr Atsushi Hamana and learned to write their names in the Japanese Kanji and Katakana.
On their second day at KUIS, the MSUrians joined international peers in lectures – Japan’s Disaster Risk Reduction System by Prof Masahiko Murata, as well as The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and Post-Disaster Town Reconstruction by Prof Yakuo Yawawaki.
On day three, a lecture on Japan’s international cooperation for disaster prevention was given by officer Daichi Ban from Japan’s International Cooperation Association (JICA).
The programme participants were also introduced to Japan’s disaster survival kit as well as the Automated External Defribillator (AED) and received CPR training.
Decision, coordination and communication being crucial to any crisis, their field and group research centred on disaster risk reduction, international recovery and Machi Communication (M-COMI).
On presentation day, the five MSUrians led group members comprising students from Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam as well as Japan into the presentations.
Sustainable development across technology, infrastructure, and economics were among the focus of Bachelor in International Business (BIB) student Kastury Rasiah’s presentation on “Improvisations after the Great Hanshin Earthquake”.
Another BIB student, Siti Nurul Hidayah Saien presented the observation that “Changes in Japan’s Educational System” after every natural disaster have been helping the country’s future generations to keep learning and be better prepared for future disasters.
The history of Kobe Port in developing Kansai’s economic growth was told by Bachelor in Accountancy student Nur Amirah Aszeli through “100 Scenes of Kobe Port”.
Two groups were selected to present on the last day of the seventh Asian Cooperative Programme (ACP) Conference, led by Bachelor in Human Capital Management student, Siti Khadijah Roslan with “Preparedness Approach to Urban Planning Development and Evacuation Practice” and Bachelor in International Business student, Michelle Lo with “Japan and its Communities”.
Michelle’s observation of community’s significant role in helping to hasten recoveries post-disaster, particularly in the Kobe disaster of 1995, won her group the Best Presentation award.
Enthusing about their international learning in Japan, the presenters shared their take-aways from the GLP learning experience, the students shared, “The emergency public phone at the side of every building is always functioning; we can really learn from the safety culture,” said Nur Amirah.
Added Siti Khadijah, “We went to Miki-shi High School where we learned about the anti-vibration technology embedded in the building structure. At a recreation park near a government centre that manages facilities for disaster victims, I was amazed by the fact that we were standing above 20,000 gallons of water contained in underground tanks, a source of clean water ready for consumption in the aftermath of an earthquake or tsunami. At MSU, we had learned to manage crisis through critical thinking and communication. The GLP learning experience in Japan widened our perspective on keeping situations under control and making disaster victims feel safe. It’s a great investment for my studies and the future.”
MSU’s Global Leadership Programme facilitates short study visits abroad across all disciplines. Semesters abroad and international work experience are respectively facilitated by MSU’s Global Mobility Programme (GMP) and Global Internship Programme (GIP).
MSU enhances competencies with industry internship, community and creative entrepreneurship as well as global exposure, empowering MSU graduates with the well-roundedness desired and sought after by employers.
■ For more details on programmes offered at MSU, call 603-5521 6868, email enquiry@msu.edu.my or visit www.msu.edu.my